Lyme disease in the horse is a major problem for some horse owners, dependent on the area of the country. However, even then, some horses improve, while others struggle with the condition or flares of the disease. To me, Lyme disease in the horse is not much different than EPM. It is the result of an invading organism, Borrelia burgdorferi, creating havoc upon the body, but ultimately, the question is why? Why did that horse contract the condition, while another in the same pasture did not? Why did one horse recover and another struggles? Well, here’s a case study on one horse, that to date, has done extremely well, proving that all hope is not lost, but sometimes you just need to see things differently.
The presence of Lyme disease in the horse is very much like EPM in the horse. There is an invading organism which has been allowed to take up shop in the body and create inflammatory damage. In the words of Shrek, your horse has a ‘squatter’, who needs to be removed or at least dealt with properly.
Simply put, if your horse has Lyme’s disease, then there is a dysfunction of his or her immune response. That may sound simple, but in truth, that is the end result. The question is what created or is contributing to that immune dysfunction. You have to know this in order to resolve the problem, otherwise, you are just dumping one ‘immune’ supplement on top of another, hoping for a resolution. There may be improvement in the short-term, but in the long-term, that bear will come back out of the cave.
Lyme Disease Case Study in the Horse
We have a client who is a Quarter Horse trainer that received in a new horse from further north. The horse had a history of Lyme disease, which I believe was treated traditionally, but was proving to be a problem clinically for future athletic performance.
This client, to the best of my knowledge, generally follows our recommendations for diet, forages and general supplementation, but was having a problem aiding this particular horse with Lyme’s disease. He placed the horse on the Secondvet EPM and Lyme formula and here are the results after 30 days.
Originally, in June of 2019, the horse was positive on all three titers: OSPA, OSPC, and OSPF.
In October of 2019, the horse remained positive to all three titers.
In January 2021, the horse was negative on OSPA and OSPC, but positive on OSPF, which is not uncommon for a horse to have remission states and then flare again.
The Secondvet EPM and Lyme formula was started in early January 2022.
In late January 2022, the horse was retested and now negative for OSPA, OSPC and equivocal for OSPF, which means the prior titer had now dropped further down and was in a ‘grey’ zone, hinging on being completely negative. At this time, the horse was clinically doing well per the trainer and the therapy is being continued along with the recommended diet, forage, and lifestyle.
Improving Lyme’s Disease in the Horse; How did that Happen?
Lyme’s disease, like EPM, is an invasion of the body by an organism. Many horses are exposed over their lifetimes, but not all will contract the disease or condition. The presence of the condition signals a weakness or deficiency in the horse and in this case, it is an immune dysfunction or deficiency. Address the cause and the horse or host will resolve the condition.
If you take the typical approach, using antibiotics, it does not always work and it is not because the organism can ‘hide’ inside of cells. The reason is that antibiotics are designed to reduce bacterial levels to an ‘acceptable’ level, thereby allowing the immune response to then kick and remove the rest. A horse that fails to recover from Lyme is the same as a horse that fails to recover from EPM. The medication chosen reduced levels and possibly improved the situation, but the horse’s immune response did not kick in and further clean up the mess. Thus, the organism simply reproduced in numbers once again and created clinical symptoms, noted as a ‘flare-up’. The more flare-ups that a horse experience, the more damage done to the body, including nerves.
In this case, our approach is to ‘boost’ the immune response. That is our goal but in some it is easier than others. In order to boost that immune response, you have to ask why it is currently reduced or compromised. This gets into some detective work.
The diet and lifestyle are number one and two contributors. The improper diet, full of grains and processed foods with synthetics, stimulates the body in one direction while impairing the digestive health of the horse. Impair that digestive health and you just impaired the immune response because the horse’s immune response is based out of the gut. A poor lifestyle, full of stress, excessive training, no turnout, and stall isolation will also reek havoc upon the horse’s body and immune response. Additionally, the antibiotics that are used in cases of Lyme and EPM infections also alter the digestive microbiome, making matters worse, especially when the horse is placed on them for long periods. This is not resolved by giving a probiotic, by the way. These two factors must be addressed.
The Secondvet EPM and Lyme formula approaches digestion and immune enhancement in one formula, using herbs that are targeted to these problems. These herbs include:
- Astragalus membranaceus- immune and digestive enhancer
- Panax Ginseng – immune and digestive enhancer
- Hericium erinaceus – nerve restorer, immune enhancer, digestive enhancer
- Gotu Kola – nerve restorer, anti-inflammatory, immune enhancer
- Acetyl-carnitine – nerve restorer, immune supporting
- Inonotus obliquus (Chaga) – immune and digestive supporting
- Coriolus versicolor (Turkey Tail) – immune and digestive supporting
This particular horse responded very nicely and in a short period of time. Not all horses will respond this readily as it is all dependent upon how the other factors are addressed. In this case, the trainer had a nice regimen in place to ‘clean things up’ and the horse responded.
Now the question is, ‘is the horse cured‘? Well, honestly, no one can say for sure. Right now, the horse is doing the best he ever has and the titers demonstrate that, all without medications. Could he relapse? Absolutely, but it is dependent upon what regimen is put into place. If the owner or trainer reverted back to old ways, then the relapse is likely. If they continue down this clean road, then relapses are less than likely.
Right now, I generally continue that herbal blend for 90 days to get back on track in most cases, and then implement a general approach for digestive and immune support to keep it that way.
Author: Tom Schell, D.V.M, CVCH, CHN